To T. H. Farrer   9 March 1880

[Down.]

My dear Farrer—

Once again I thank you heartily & I hope that you will give my true thanks to Mr Caird.1

It seems to me that Hooker & Mr Caird hardly understand the scale on which Mr Torbitt works when they say that 100 wd be sufficient; in which success of his scheme depends on his raising annually many thousand [illeg] seedlings: I have been informed not by Mr T. only that he has 10 acres of land full of varieties, & that he devotes the whole of a greenhouse to propag forward the best seedlings which are first started in flower-pots.— The labour of harvesting separating labelling examining &c [illeg], saving the seed &c & keeping an account of all the varieties must be immense. I ⁠⟨⁠have⁠⟩⁠ now got with your cheque for £85  170£, which I think will be ample.2 Though it appears to me useless to write to the Times,. [nevertheless], as soon as I receive an answer to some queries sent to Mr Torbitt, I will draw up a letter, such as I had thought of writing to the Times, & will send 2 or more copies to you & Mr Caird so that his [generous] coadjutor may understand Mr Torbitts plan & see what he has done & why I think favourably of the scheme.— I can keep the letter to the Times in reserve, if next year it shd still appear to me desirable that Mr T. shd continue his work.3 Anyhow neither you nor Mr Caird shall be again troubled with the subject.—

I am, however, perplexed, as Mr Caird’s writes “I dont think the 100£ shd be given to the experimenter unless he can show good reason.” I will not now not send your cheque of £85 until Mr Caird & you have read what I will write to the Times & you can then decide whether I shall return the cheque to you

I have from yourself brother & Huxley 85 £.—4

Yours sincerely

March 9th 1880 | To T. H. Farrer

ADraft

1
See first letter from T. H. Farrer, 8 March 1880, and second letter from T. H. Farrer, 8 March 1880. James Caird had been collecting subscriptions to enable James Torbitt to continue his blight-resistant potato research.
2
Joseph Dalton Hooker and Caird thought that £100 would be enough for Torbitt’s research and wanted Torbitt to write a precise progress report before he received more; see letter from T. H. Farrer, 6 March 1880. CD had raised an additional £85 making a total of £170 (see letters to James Torbitt, 6 March 1880 and 6 March [1880]).
3
In his letter to Farrer of 7 [March 1880], CD had suggested writing to The Times to invite further subscriptions to Torbitt’s fund. For CD’s queries to Torbitt, see the letter to James Torbitt, 6 March [1880].

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

1.1 give] after del ‘send’
1.1 true] interl pencil above interl and del pencil ‘true’
2.1 It] after del ‘I have now got 170£ which I think will be as far as I can judge’
2.2 in … seedlings: 2.3] interl
2.4 not … only] interl
2.4 of land] interl
2.5 devotes] altered from ‘devoted’ after del ‘has’
2.5 best] pencil above del pencil ‘most promising’
2.6 first] after del ‘at’
2.6 in flower-pots] after del ‘[all with pots]’
2.6 The labour … seed &c’ 2.7] above del ‘the labelling’
2.7 all] interl
2.8 immense] pencil above del pencil ‘a gigantic work.—’; before pencil del pencil ‘& far beyond any one’
2.8 with … £85] interl
2.9 useless] pencil above pencil del pencil ‘unnecessary’ above del pencil ‘useless’
2.9 [nevertheless]] after del ‘& I can keep this plan in reserve; for anyhow neither you or Mr Caird shall ever be again troubled with this subject.— But,’
2.10 an answer] ‘an’ interl
2.10 sent] pencil above del ‘addressed’
2.11 had thought] ‘had’ interl
2.11 writing … Times,] above del ‘sending,’
2.11 2 or more] interl
2.12 you &] interl
2.14 reserve] added pencil above ‘reserve’
2.14 desirable that] ‘that’ after del ‘to me’
3.1 I am … as Mr] above del ‘As Mr     I feel, however, [illeg] about  I will not send just yet Mr Caird’s *or your [interl] suggestion to Mr Torbitt, as I feel doubt whether I ought to raise it owing to Mr’
3.1 writes] after del ‘sentence’
3.2 not now] interl
3.2 not send … £85 3.3] interl
3.3 until Mr Caird] after del ‘[several words illeg interl] keep your cheque’; ‘Mr’ after del ‘Mr’
3.3 will write] pencil above del ink ‘will can’, del pencil ‘say in my *accompanying note [interl and del] letter addressed, as it’
3.4 & you … to you] interl below del pencil ‘[2 words illeg] your cheque for 85’
4.1 brother] below del ‘Erasmus’

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-12528,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-12528